Related
OK - I've been using the ATT store Body Glove case since I bought the Captivate, which is ok but I don't really like the stripes on the back, and it is a bit too slippery for me.
I just ordered the Seidio case because it has more of a matte finish and I liked the felt interior. So I don't know if I like it or not.
A few minutes ago I took the phone out of it's case to dust it and clean out the case when I got a call. I was surprised at how slim the phone felt without it's Body Glove case on. I liked it. But I also found it a bit slippery. ( A speaker phone call was put on the arm of the chair I was in - with the case it would hold - without it slid away)
Now I am wondering if I should just use some skateboard tape or something similar on key areas to allow me to set it down and hold it comfortably (where it won't slip) instead of using a case. I don't use a screen protector and I don't think this phone needs it.
Any comments or suggestions?
Now that I've thought about it for a few minutes - I think what I want is a rubberized battery cover. That would be the bomb.
I don't use a case on mine and I've yet to get a single scratch on the front or back - the glass is very tough. I cringe at having to use a case, losing accuracy, clarity, and brightness on the screen and having to touch through that...having it hard to slip in and out of my pocket...not looking as nice. It's like if your wife made you use a condom every time.
just "paint" it with some Elmer's Rubber Cement. Im really kidding but I'm with you I like the feel of the phone and I hate the rubber case I got it makes it a pain to get in and out of the pocket. Personally I plan on selling this phone in a couple of months so I want it in good condition.
vsboxerboy1 said:
I don't use a case on mine and I've yet to get a single scratch on the front or back - the glass is very tough. I cringe at having to use a case, losing accuracy, clarity, and brightness on the screen and having to touch through that...having it hard to slip in and out of my pocket...not looking as nice. It's like if your wife made you use a condom every time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed that the screen is fine on its own. But I still think the back needs some help.
Also, I do not like condoms. Neither do my wife and kids.
Ah, well I saw something a while back where someone basically took four little rubber/plastic stickers and put one on each corner of the back of the phone to lift the back up off whatever surface you set it on just a hair. I would imagine that you'd get good traction with that too - I can't seem to find the exact application of it though......
This thread is mostly me think out loud.
I believe that what I want is a rubberized battery cover.
The cover is slightly recessed - it is lower then the bottom locking section and the top section with the camera. It also wraps around the sides almost 1/2 of the way.
I think that if the battery cover were coated with a rubberized, non-slip material, it would be better. If the rubberization made the cover stick out slightly, rather than be recessed, it would allow the phone to be set on it's back and not slide away and keep the camera off the deck. Also, the wrap around side parts of the cover would help when holding the phone.
Now, can someone tell me of a place/process that might do this? (Not rubber cement but close) My pickup has a Rhino Lining coating that I love. There is a place nearby that does that work but the coating is like 1/8-1/4 inches and that is a bit to thick for the phone.
Any Ideas?
http://www.plastidip.com/home_solutions/Plasti_Dip
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=1150/Product/GUN_KOTE_trade__OVEN_CURE__GUN_FINISH
http://www.goboatingamerica.com/products/DM_article.asp?id=3645
Found these
Bought this stuff at Home Depot.
Then tested in on this beer can. I didn't clean or prep the can, just picked it up off of the floor.
This is 5 coats. It is still thin. Dries fast and feels just about how I'd like it to. Not tacky - sort of a hard rubber feel. It is flexible, the can bends and the stuff stays with it.
It can be scratched, you may be able to see a scratch I made with my nail. It didn't go all the way through to the can though - and I had to scratch hard. It looks like it would be easy to spray another coat over any scuffs.
I plan to do the back of the battery cover - thick enough to make it a bit taller than the top and bottom sections of the phone. The way it is going it seem like that may take 15+ coats. I'll keep testing.
Two things about that though, the battery cover is used not only as the speaker output but the battery cover itself also dissipates a good amount of the heat that the phone generates. You probably want to be a more careful than usual in designing something that is going to smother this part of the phone.
not sure how much you're looking to spend but I put the Zagg total protection on mine. You get full protection on your phone but you can't see it, so you still get the sleek look and it's still very thin as well. The clear plastic is also great for gripping, I can set it on the dash of my car and drive normally and it won't budge.
I've had good luck with bestskinsever.com
Used it on my Nexus One and the fit was good, buddy got one for his vibrant and the fit is good as well.
journeyman82 said:
not sure how much you're looking to spend but I put the Zagg total protection on mine. You get full protection on your phone but you can't see it, so you still get the sleek look and it's still very thin as well. The clear plastic is also great for gripping, I can set it on the dash of my car and drive normally and it won't budge.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks interesting. I wish they had the leather skin for the captivate. I would be all over that. In fact I may need to take a trip to the fabric store to see what they have.
Thanks.
Ok to finish up my saga...
I liked the faux leather on the cover mentioned in the post above so I went to the fabric store and ended up with some black, I believe they call it marbled vinyl. It looked and felt similar to the back of a blackberry I once held.
I tested it on my trusty Busch Light can with some 3M spray adhesive and it seemed to hold fairly well.
So I went for it. I taped off the inside and the prongs of the battery cover. Sprayed glue on the cover and the back of a piece of vinyl cut too big. Stuck it on and smoothed it out. I sat the cover on a bag of rice and and put a bag of brown sugar on top (to push around the curves) and topped it off with a gallon jug of tile grout.
Waited an hour, probably longer than needed, and used a pointy x-acto knife to trim off the excess. I had also put a piece of tape over the speaker holes so I cut that back open to. The underside of the vinyl has a white background so once it was trimmed to fit I went around the edges with a fine tipped sharpie, which blended well.
Overall I like it. It is just a bit thinker that the top and bottom bands, so if you lay her on her back those parts don't touch a flat table. It has a leathery, grippy feel without being tacky, which is what I was going for. I do already miss the front edge lip that the Body Golve provided but it is also almost it;s original thickness.
Pics below. (Sorry about the crappy last pic. I had the phone with new back all set up on a white surface, ready for it's glamor shot, when I realized that the phone is my camera)
Staplebox: great job!
Wow that is a nice, careful job.....
staplebox said:
Ok to finish up my saga...
I liked the faux leather on the cover mentioned in the post above so I went to the fabric store and ended up with some black, I believe they call it marbled vinyl. It looked and felt similar to the back of a blackberry I once held.
I tested it on my trusty Busch Light can with some 3M spray adhesive and it seemed to hold fairly well.
So I went for it. I taped off the inside and the prongs of the battery cover. Sprayed glue on the cover and the back of a piece of vinyl cut too big. Stuck it on and smoothed it out. I sat the cover on a bag of rice and and put a bag of brown sugar on top (to push around the curves) and topped it off with a gallon jug of tile grout.
Waited an hour, probably longer than needed, and used a pointy x-acto knife to trim off the excess. I had also put a piece of tape over the speaker holes so I cut that back open to. The underside of the vinyl has a white background so once it was trimmed to fit I went around the edges with a fine tipped sharpie, which blended well.
Overall I like it. It is just a bit thinker that the top and bottom bands, so if you lay her on her back those parts don't touch a flat table. It has a leathery, grippy feel without being tacky, which is what I was going for. I do already miss the front edge lip that the Body Golve provided but it is also almost it;s original thickness.
Pics below. (Sorry about the crappy last pic. I had the phone with new back all set up on a white surface, ready for it's glamor shot, when I realized that the phone is my camera)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
love it, im stealing that!
Go for it. Usually I prefer to buy a second of whatever I am defacing before I deface it but I didn't find any battery covers online. I also didn't look to hard.
It is still on and I still like it. The only thing I don't like too much are the sides. I completely covered the back, right up to the side edges. It is a perfect thickness on the back but feels too thick on the sides. I wish I could have found a thinner material that I could have built up on the back and tapered to one layer on the sides. I really wanted grippyness on the sides so, oh well, it's good enough.
I'm still on the look out for a better spray on rubber. I'll update if I find anything good.
Hopefully someone will start making aftermarket battery covers with some options.
Thanks and good luck,.
Second the stealing. Awesome idea and writeup. Thanks for sharing.
From a phone on an app
I scrapped the vinyl. The edges were just bugging me to much. I still think a thinner material would work well though.
I cleaned up the cover - looked fine again with all the glue off of it.
I went back to the rubber spray. I've got about 8 coats on in the attached pic. Need to wait about 30 min in between coats. I'll keep going until I go to sleep, let it dry overnight - and test it out tomorrow.
ETA - put it on the phone the today. Love it. Doesn't add any bulk and provides a grippyness to the back and sides. I'll find out how durable it is.
Many of the reviews I read/viewed of this phone back in early December pointed out the cheesy-ness of the cover and back.
One reviewer, phonedog I believe, suggested just tearing the cover off 1st thing because it's going to break anyway.
I haven't had any issue with the cover and think it looks pretty slick.
And I very much like the textured back- it's a big feature of this phone IMO.
I also like the texture and grip of the back-cover. I'd agree with any negative sayings that it's a pain in the arse to take the cover off and have to resort to prying it open from where the mic is, but other than that I think the cover is quite resilient to a bit of flexing and it snaps in/out of where it should easily.
To each his own.
I prefer this cover to either soapbox feel of sammy or iphone glass or plastic of moto. The usb cover was a stupid idea but I just deal with it. M
Sent from my LG-P930 using Tapatalk
When the rumors about this phone were whirling around and the first pictures came out, I almost decided not to buy it right then. Most pictures of the back that I see look very ugly, but in person, the back is great. It is very grippy and actually looks sharp IMO.
The USB cover can be bit annoying, but it really doesn't bother me that much.
The cover is actually pretty securely attached, and not likely to break off on accident. And I also think it was a stupid idea. But the back cover I love - I just wish the Nitro HD were popular enough to drive more accessory development - a gun metal grey brushed aluminum aftermarket replacement back would be awesome.
I like the texture on the back as it does make the phone easier to hold onto. But, I could do without the goofy cover for the micro-usb.
To be honest, I don't mind the usb cover. Better than having the port damaged/filled with pocket lint or something. I thought I was going to hate it. It only gets in the way whilst charging.
My Inspire didn't have a USB cover and I never damaged it, so I'm not a fan of the port cover. Or port positioning for that matter.
As far as the back is concerned. I don't like the feel of it, but it does have excellent grip and is very resistant to scratches and finger prints. It doesn't look so bad either. It looks much worse in pictures than in person.
I do have a problem with the design of the back cover though. Taking it off and on a few times, I've had the pucker factor every single time. It feels like it will break eventually. I hope it doesn't, but in the meanwhile, maybe someone will make an after market replacement before it happens. I haven't been taken the cover off as much now that I am carrying it on a daily basis.
I like the back cover... feels much better than Skyrocket. The USB cover is weird... I want to pull it off, but cant being myself to do it.
The back cover I guess is ok, I think it's durable, though it does feel like cheap plastic. Even with the texture on the back the sides are still smooth, so people saying about good grip, I'd like to see how you hold it that that texture matters ;p
The usb cover - it's useless (read as "retarded"). First off all, let's talk about the position of the plug, it's on top, which mean there will be no dock or anything related for this phone. Then this stupid cover, what does it protect it from? dust? gee how many phones anyone had with no such cover and has problem with dust? And it's not like this plug get used once a week, it's used at least twice a day!
I think the reason for the plug, is because many if not most people carrying the phone in the pocket and it lays there upside down, which means more chances something get jammed in that hole.
I really like the back cover, especially compared to the Skyrocket I had for a month.
The USB cover is actually quite useful for me. I work in a high dust environment so its quite handy.
Sent from my LG-P930 using XDA App
[email protected] said:
The back cover I guess is ok, I think it's durable, though it does feel like cheap plastic. Even with the texture on the back the sides are still smooth, so people saying about good grip, I'd like to see how you hold it that that texture matters ;p
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
while the sides aren't textured they aren't slick like the typical back, I find I do get more grip from the sides of this back than the glossy back sides. I also find myself gripping this device a couple of different ways that put some finger/palm areas in touch with the textured back.
for instance, just sliding my pointing finger up a bit on the back puts a lot of that finger in contact with the textured back.
walking down the street listening to tunes with the headset on I'll grab the device below the volume buttons and really wrap my hand around it, that puts a lot of my palm in contact with the back and really locks the phone down in my hand and still gives me room to tap the screen and change tracks, etc with my left pointing finger.
From quite a bit of research, it seems as though the Desire HD for some at least is problematic when it comes to removing the battery cover.
I've had several desire hd's and this one is being a real swine to remove the battery cover!
On a previous DHD, I used a knife to remove the cover, but using a metal object damaged the casing!
I've read that some people have had success in removing a cover, by using a guitar plectrum of all things, but I don't have one!
I've broken several thumb and fingernails trying to get the dam cover off so far... and am looking for tips...
Neah mind, used the misses's nail file to pry it open... was careful not to damage the casing... still the DHD has a badly designed battery cover nevertheless!
lol, it is always the hardest for the first time, if you know what I mean. Once you have opened the battery door for a few times, it will be easier to be taken off. This door system, is somewhat weird, for having separate plastic part from the metal housing. But that is why the unibody design is toughest amongst other phones. It is an acceptable payoff for being tough despite the uncommon appearance. Just accept and be thankful for it. A little off topic, hehe.
I removed back cover from kindle, rear cover did not seat fully upon re install. Loose on two corners.
was wondering if anyone has had there kindle apart and had a similar issue.
Was thinking of just gluing with silicon adhesive, so as to be able to remove later if needed.
Any thoughts?
Did you break any of the clips?
Must have broken something as cover does not snap back as cleanly as it did before.
It does not seam like it is going to fall off, would just like to be sure it is secure.
For anyone contemplating these repairs, they turned out to be much simpler than I expected.
Camera lens
The lens can actually be replaced without removing the rear cover of the phone. Simply use a knife to carefully gouge out the broken glass, clean off the old glue, then stick the new ones into place.
Rear cover
I bought an original Xiaomi cover on Ali Express for $60. They seem to be getting more and more scarce, so if you're thinking about doing it, do it sooner rather than later.
To remove, I heated the edges a little with a hairdryer, then wiggled a work knife into the gap and worked my way around, sliding the knife and lifting. Once you get it going it's not difficult, but you need a little patience. Once you get enough done, lift the cover to get the rest of it off.
Be careful with lifting because the fingerprint sensor is attached. To remove it at the phone end, the connector is very small but easy to get off, it's a press-in connector, so just carefully insert the very corner of your knife under the edge and lift. It comes off easily, so if you're having to work at it you're doing it wrong.
To remove the sensor from the old cover, warm it with the hair dyrer, then use a very thin knife or blade and work carefully around the edge. It won't come out until you've worked all the way round, lifting more than cutting. Once out, the glue is recessed slightly, so the sensor stands out and fits into the hole in the cover, which means positioning isn't a problem. You can probably buy the glue piece, but I didn't have it so I just put it back in the new cover using the old glue, I warmed it a bit and then weighted it back in place for a while. It seemed to be pretty firmly in place, and I don't think it's going anywhere anyway once the cover is back on, since it's up against the rest of the phone.
Check around the edges of the phone for remnants of the old glue. It comes out easily, just push a bit with the knife to get the end up, then lift and pull and it'll come out in a single strand.
The replacement cover comes pre-glued, although it's not really glue, more of a sticky seal. Starting at the camera end, position the cover and push it into place. There's a pop when it goes in, and I think even without the glue it would be fine. I then warmed the edges and weighted it down for a while.
Hello comrade, thank you for sharing your experience.
Now, it wouldn't be a bad idea to share with us the links (if XDA allows this kind of links) for the purchase of your spare parts.
Internet is very rough, and in my case, I buy almost everything in Aliexpress, it is very difficult to find good sellers with good prices.
This way, your contribution will be much more complete.
Thanks a lot, and greetings.
Hi
I will attempt a similar replacement but I just have some questions. How did you swap the nfc and wireless charging coil and do you think it is possible to do a "clear" version of the back cover (removing the interior paint)
thank you